Azerbaijan, Baku, 7 April / Trend corr K. Zarbaliyeva/ Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor-in-chief of the Gundalik Azerbaijan and Realniy Azerbaijan newspapers, who is kept in the prison, suspended his 14-day hunger strike. The PR Department at the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijani Justice Ministry said that Fatullayev has suspended his hunger strike on 7 April.
On 26 March, Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of Gundalik Azerbaijan and Realniy Azerbaijan newspapers went on a hunger strike in demand for objective consideration of his case, release of the arrested journalists and for concrete protection measures to be applied by the Council of Europe and OSCE.
Azerbaijani Ombudswoman Elmira Suleymanova and Fatullayev's father Emin Fatullayev asked him to stop the hunger strike.
On 7 April, for support to Eynulla Fatullayev, the military expert Janmirza Mirzayev, the member of the Popular Front Party's administration Rovshan Guliyev, the employees of closed Gundalik Azerbaijan newspaper Salim Azizoglu and Nemat Huseynli, the chairmen of the youth organizations of the Musavat party and the Citizen and Development Party Tural Abbasli and Nuraddin Babayev joined the hunger strike, which was held since 27 March by turns.
The editor of the Realniy Azerbaijan Chingiz Sultanova, the military journalist Uzeyir Jafarov and the editor of Yeni Musavat newspaper Famil Jafari are still continuing the hunger strike. The director of Turan news agency Mehman Aliyev, the chief editor of Gundalik Azerbaijan Shahvalad Chobanoglu, the editor-in-chief of Yeni Musavat Rauf Arifoglu, the acting Chair of Liberal Party Avaz Temirkhan and the Deputy Chair of Popular Front Party Fuad Mustafayev suspended hunger-striking on 5-6 April. The members of the Popular Front Party administration Nemat Aliyev and the member of the press service of the Musavat party Yalchin Abbasov suspended their hunger strike today.
Fatullayev was charged with violations of the Articles 214.1 (terrorism), 283.2.2 (hostility) and 213.2.2 (tax evasion) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and was sentenced to eight years and six months in the prison
Three journalists in Azerbaijan have been imprisoned for their professional activities.
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